Murli Deora wants son Milind in ministry

The 74-year old Union minister for corporate affairs Murli Deora wants to opt out of the ministry and wishes that his son Milind, the Congress MP from South Mumbai is inducted as a minister of state.

Deora has said that he made the offer to step down from the ministry during a meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Party sources indicated that no decision has been taken so far, but also hinted that the elder Deora’s exit from the ministry may not coincide with the induction of the younger one.

“This is not a case of a swap between the father and the son. If Milind has to be inducted then there are several other young MPs who are equally strong claimants for a ministerial berth,” observed a senior Congress general secretary.

With Murli Deora’s offer now in the public domain, there is yet another element to the pending ministerial reshuffle that has been promised by prime minister Manmohan Singh before the monsoon session of the parliament that begins on August 1.

Even without Deora’s offer to quit the possibility of older ministers like SM Krishna, BK Handique, MS Gill being asked to step down to make way for younger talent has been discussed within the Congress.